June walked out of the salon with a confused look on her face.
Unknown to her, she was being targeted by some gunmen who stood at a high range distance with their guns set and ready to fire.
June cautiously headed to her car and got into the driving seat. She placed the bag in her camisole and started her journey.
She made a U-turn, and in the next two seconds, sirens blared in the air. The sound of the sirens was so loud that she was forced to pull over.
Suddenly, she felt her tyre deflate and before she could figure out the reason for the sudden flat tyre, a gunshot hit her window glass – Forcing it to explode into a million chards.
June ducked as more shots fired in the air. The entire environment was noisy and people rushed into their homes, trying to take cover.
June held on to the brown bag, refusing to let go no matter the cost. She felt a graze of pain in her head and her heartbeat increased to an all-time high.
She remained in her car until the rain of bullets shattered all the glasses. Unknown to her, there was a battle between the Fernando brothers gang.
Liam was in the area with some of his best men and a war had broken out between them. Liam took the lead, shooting every enemy as they looked around for June.
Lucy soon understood the situation. She was made to stay at a safe distance with a security guard while they entered the ambush laid for June.
She prayed with all her heart that her boss would be safe and everything would turn out fine.
Meanwhile, June remained in her car, ducked with the brown bag held tightly to her chest. Her eyes were shut tightly as she lay low during the chaos.
“Come on! Let’s go!” She heard the voice of a woman and opened her eyes.
To her greatest surprise, it was the woman from the salon and she held a gun too. Her moves were like one trained in the field and she fired her shots without thoughts.
June hesitated, unable to trust the suddenly bold and feisty woman. “Get out now!”
The woman was not patient and tried to open the car. “The boss is here for you, I need to get you to him!”
While she was yet speaking a gunshot was fired and before she could dodge it, it caught her in the arm.
“Darn…” The elderly woman slid to the floor and held her bleeding arm. “You have to get out of this car.”
“Are you alright?!” June yelled, shocked at the situation. “Mrs Dora!”
“Listen to me!” The older auntie spoke from the side of the car, “This car is going to explode soon.”
June – !!!!
“I need you to get out of the car and run straight down. Do you understand?” The older woman shouted over the noise. “The boss is at the other end of the street.”
“You need to get to them. I’ll cover for you.” She said, “We don’t have much time.”
“It’s too risky. I can’t leave you here.” June said, “Where are you hurt?” She asked from the car, “You can’t hold them off if you are hurt.”
“I didn’t solicit your opinion child.” The woman seethed. “Unless you want to die with that evidence and ensure that the twins are doomed for life, then you should do as I say.”
On hearing the twins, June felt her mind reset. She couldn’t fail. But she also couldn’t let a woman who was hurt from trying to help her risk her life.
“We have just five minutes!” The woman groaned. “Make a choice! It’s now or never!”
The insanity around reduced and June could suddenly hear the beeping of something under the car.
There was a bomb in the car! She couldn’t understand how or when it came about but it was red and blinking. Time was something she didn’t have.
She tried to open the doors but they were locked shut. June looked up and the roof of her car was mangled enough to capsize over her head.
With five powerful blows, she made a dent and created an opening to leave the car. She said a little prayer and began her escape.
June leapt out of the car and landed on the ground. She came face to face with the old woman whose arm bled furiously.
“Go! Go! Go!” The woman urged and she immediately took off in a sprint.
June held her bag tight as she ran straight ahead in a zig-zag manner, she heard the sound of guns intensify but fought against the urge to fall in fear.
Soon enough, she sighted Liam, waking with a bulletproof vest as he fired shots here and there.
It was a bloodbath.
She went straight towards him. Liam noticed June the moment she started her run.
He focused his shots on the men who wanted to shoot her down, expertly ending their lives with a single shot.
A few meters away from him, the ground shook and her car exploded. June fell to the ground, alongside the others.
Sirens blared into the air, signalling the police was near. June lay on the ground, unable to move as she held on to the bag as though her life depended on it.
The men sent to kill her soon ran away, with the appearance of the police, they all entered their cars and zoomed out of the area.
Liam closed the distance between himself and June. “Hey, get up. We need to leave.” He dragged her up.
June looked like she’d seen her life flash before her eyes. Her thoughts were incoherent as he dragged her through the mud of dead bodies into the car with Lucy.
“My lady!” Lucy took June in her arms. “I was so scared! Are you hurt anywhere?!”
June shook in her arms, and suddenly her eyes widened. “Mrs Dora! We need to help her!” She said, looking frantically.
Liam sat in front this time. “Drive,” He ordered his driver and the car sped out of the place.
June was not having it. “We need to go back! The lady! She will be in danger! The car… it exploded… we have to help.”
“She’s dead,” Liam stated from the front. “Unless you want to be next, I suggest you keep your mouth shut and get home safely.”
The car screeched to a stop and Liam took two guns from his camisole. He stepped out of the car to the shock of Lucy and June.
“Go straight home.”
“Where are you going? It’s dangerous!” June said but he didn’t give her the time of the day.
Liam ran into the bushes, determined to end things once and for all. He had received Intel of his brother’s hideout in South City, as his plan to assassinate June.
His men had gone ahead to ambush Arnold but he gave orders to keep him alive. He wanted to savour the feeling of hearing him beg for his life.
He wanted to kill him with his bare hands.
Liam arrived at the hideout and his men were on the ground to receive him. “Sir!”
“Where is he?!” Liam seethed, looking around the calm deserted area.
“Mr Arnold left the property hours before we arrived.” One of the men presented a paper. “He knew we were on our way. It was a set-up.”
Liam collected the paper and read his brother’s note. His anger skyrocketed as he read the words.
“Welcome to South City, Brother. I assure your corpse will be sent back home alongside your pretty little Rivera. I hope you had a lovely time out today. I’ll always be a step ahead of you.”
Liam threw the paper to the floor and stomped it to shreds. “Let’s go!” He ordered and led the way out of the hideout.
Soon enough, they returned home. June stood outside the house, pacing and waiting for their return. When the cars drove in, she felt her heartbeat accelerate.
“What was that?” June yelled. Her emotions were all over the place. “When did you come in and what happened back then?”
“Who were those men? What do they want with me?” June was losing it. “There was a bomb…. a bomb in my car!”
“Did you know? What are you not telling me, Liam?!”
“Calm down!” Liam roared and the sound was enough to frighten a bulldog. “I need you to calm down,” he said in a calmer tone. “Please…”
June remained in her spot. She had never seen him lose his cool in such a manner. Liam had always been reserved around her.
It was the first time she’d seen him so… disoriented. She couldn’t blame him, after the day’s experience, every emotion was heightened and they all needed to rest.
The remainder of the day was spent in silence. Evelyn made dinner and they all retired. The next morning, they had a lot to talk about.